by Eden Blue
“It will take us 48 hours to reach the Gwyndolin system. Once we are primed and ready, we will take off and open a warp tunnel,” Venna said as she assumed command. “Check engineering and see what you can do to give us a little more speed. When Lydia logs on, she will assist you.”
Evan nodded. He turned to walk away when Lydia faded into view. The cyborg looked to Venna and Nyn before centering her gaze on Evan. The Engineer read her questioning gaze and walked to her side.
“We're going to take off soon. Let’s head down to engineering and I’ll fill you in.”
Lydia nodded. Evan led the way and Lydia followed. The two walked down the main corridor before branching off towards the stairs. Descending down, Evan mulled over the information Venna had given him. He trusted the Shri-Ka with his life, but wasn’t so sure about the Lyress pilot and the nano weaver doctor. The guild was so large, there were plenty of members he’d never met. Now they had to get to know one another under strange circumstances. It left the Engineer a little exposed in a situation no one wanted to be in.
The Engineer and Cyborg made their way down the steps to the engineering deck. Power tubes lined the walls with console panels every few feet. A ship this size would work efficiently if there were three engineers. Evan wondered how much he could really handle by his lonesome. Lydia walked slightly behind the engineer, taking in each panel and information scrolling in her visual display.
The two made their way to the engine room. A single transparent tube took up the middle with tubes running from the ceiling and the floor. In the tube was a shard of a Tempest Crystal. It pulsed as it supplied power to the ship. Evan stepped over to the engineering controls and began typing away.
“Can you interface with the ship and see about boosting power?” Evan said over his shoulder.
“I can boost the ship power, but my systems will fry in about ten minutes. I need to be higher level to handle something this size. Right now, I can boost smaller systems and power suits, but that is all,” Lydia replied.
Evan nodded, “That’s fine. We can hold you in reserve if things get hairy. I’ll see if my levels are enough to improve the power output.”
Evan began to work, his skills appearing in his visual display and testing them against the power output. As he worked, Lydia looked around, taking in the newness of the ship. Everything looked brand new and hardly touched. A Raptor Class ship like this was expensive and she set about admiring it.
Evan opened a com channel, “Captain, I have improved the engine by about 2%. It will shave off about two hours, but that’s all I can do.”
“It will be enough. Thank you, Evan., We are almost done priming the ship. We should be taking off soon,” said Venna over comms.
“Affirmative,” Evan replied.
The Engineer turned to Lydia, “Let’s go exploring.”
Lydia nodded with a smile.
***
“Nyn, start the engines and take us out,” Venna directed.
The Lyress pilot nodded as her fingers worked the screen and physical controls.
Venna opened coms, “The Shield Maiden is preparing for takeoff.”
“Shield Maiden?” Evan said over comms.
Venna nodded, “This may be a Raptor Class attack vessel, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be used for defense.”
“I like it,” Doctor Vickers replied.
“I like it too,” Lydia chimed in.
“The Shield Maiden it is, then” Evan said with an enthusiastic edge.
Venna smiled as the takeoff thrusters burned. The ship lifted off, landing gear folding into the underbelly. The nose turned slightly, pointing to the wide cave mouth. Rear thrusters lit and flared to life. The ship hovered, making its way slowly out of the cave. Once it cleared, Nyn increased speed and pointed the nose up. With a burst of power, the thrusters burned bright. A moment later, the Shield Maiden shot forth into the sky. Clouds slipped past as the ship made its way higher and higher until the sky turned black and then a celestial purple.
Venna eyed the screen, taking in the scans of the debris. Tapping at the controls, she gave Nyn permission to open a warp tunnel. The pilot nodded, tapping away at the controls. Before them, a rip in space time appeared. It grew wider until it formed a purple hole. The Tempest Drive glowed brighter, forcing the hole to reach the size of the ship. The Shri-Ka Captain pressed the activation command and the ship blasted toward the warp tunnel. Once it passed the event horizon, light streamed past as the tunnel collapsed behind them and the Shield Maiden was gone.
Evan and Lydia made their way through the ship. They investigated the sleeping quarters, small mess hall, and finally made their way to the Exo-suit Bay. Evan stepped in and looked to one of the bay compartments where Bruiser stood like a robotic golem. Looking around, the engineer moved to a wall and pressed the side panel. Shelves of modules and extra parts slid out, brand new and shiny. Evan couldn’t contain his smile as he inspected the extra parts and equipment.
Lydia smiled as she watched her cousin go through the equipment like a kid in a candy store. Giving him a moment, she walked over to Bruiser. The power suit was made of flexible scaled metal. The oversized hands gave him an almost gorilla appearance, but his head was that of any old fashion knight. Black eyes shined but Lydia remembered how they turned blue when he was activated. She stepped closer, reaching up and touching his chest, cool metal against her artificial sensors.
“There are enough parts here for me to build two power suits,” Evan said with an excited tone.
“Can you do it, make more power suits?” Lydia asked as she kept her hand on Bruiser, not looking back.
Evan nodded to himself, “Yea, and I think I should.”
The Engineer turned his head to Lydia as she marveled at Bruiser, “What design would you like?”
Lydia turned around, “I’m not sure. How long will it take?”
“I can build a suit in twenty-four hours. Come to think of it, you should have a suit to help protect you. They can be expensive to buy, but with all these parts, I could have one ready by the time we reach the Gwyndolin system.”
“Can you build me one as well?” said a voice from the bay entrance.
Evan and Lydia turned their eyes to Doctor Vickers as he leaned his back at a wall by the entrance way. The Doctor held an amused expression as he crossed his big arms and tilted his head forward.
Evan slid the shelf back in and looked to the Doctor, “I thought you just wanted to be dropped off on the rim?”
The Doctor stood up and let his arms fall to his sides, “I may have been too hasty. The rim is a dangerous place and I could use all the protection I can get. I can transfer what little credits I have for the job.”
The engineer gave the doctor a blank look, “I'll have to see if there are enough parts after I build one for Lydia.”
Doctor Vickers nodded, “Fair enough.”
The doctor took several steps in. A nervous sliver moved up and down Evan’s spine. The doctor was big and intimidating. His smile was the only thing that seemed to dampen an otherwise large and scary looking person.
The Doctor stopped and his lips took on a bright grin, “I don’t want us starting off on the wrong foot. I’m thankful you all showed up and even allowed me on your ship. I’m not sure what happened on the station, but if we all have bounties on our heads, it may be better to stick together.”
Evan and Lydia remained silent, unsure what to say.
Doctor Vickers continued, “The ship has some secrets. I sent out some nano-drones to explore some of the nooks and crannies. I came across something we should all take a look at.”
The Doctor turned and walked into the corridor. Evan and Lydia looked to each other before following along. Vickers moved about twenty feet down the main corridor when he stopped and turned to one of the walls. He looked to Evan and Lydia with a smile before he picked up his hand and pressed it to the cold metal. There were a number of clicks before the wall pressed in and slid sideways. Evan
and Lydia’s eyes widened as they gazed in.
Black Sentry soldiers lined up, plasma rifles magnetized to their chests. The robotic sentries were offline and stood at the ready. Evan stepped closer, seeing that there were hatches at the feet of each sentry for easy ground deployment. Their faceless smooth heads shined in the corridor lights, silent as a tomb and just as still.
“Pris, how many sentries are aboard the Shield Maiden?” Evan asked.
“I detect no Sentries aboard the Shield Maiden,” Pris replied.
Doctor Vickers nodded, “Someone didn’t want you to know they were here. We wouldn’t have known about them unless my drones searched.”
Evan squared his jaw. The Exo-Suit Bay was on the lowest part of the ship. Thinking back to what he saw of the ship, every corridor could have sentries behind the walls. Pris couldn’t detect them and that was a problem. Evan thought back to Ryan, wondering what game he was playing at.
The Engineer stepped forward and grabbed hold of a plasma rifle. Wrenching it from a sentry’s chest, it came away with a little straining. The player tossed the rifle to the corridor floor before turning to the skeletal sentry. Reaching under the arm, he pressed at the hidden connections and activated his implant. There was a moment of hesitation before the CPU came online. Evan knew sentries well and knew how to get past their defenses, but this was a little too easy, as if it knew he would access it.
Lydia knelt down and picked up the plasma rifle. Doctor Vickers eyed her as she slipped it over her shoulder and attached it to her back. The raised holes lining her shoulder blade magnetized as the plasma rifle secured against them. The cyborg looked to Evan as he worked.
The sentry was activated. Evan stepped back and it stepped into the corridor. The player turned and walked back to the Exo-Suit Bay. Stepping in, he moved to the supply panels and slid out the racks again. The sentry followed until it stood before Evan as he grabbed items. Lydia and the doctor watched as Evan moved like he was possessed. The Engineer grabbed a few modules and a holo emitter. Stepping around the sentry, he attached modules to the sentry’s spine. The modules clasped on and a small whirl filled the air before it was secured.
Lydia stepped closer, “What are you doing?”
“I’m improving the design slightly with EMP shielding. Most robotic designs are made to minimum requirements so they don’t cost so much. They are meant to be expendable foot soldiers when it comes to combat. I’m improving the design for a better idea I have,” Evan said as he worked.
“Lydia, can you pull one of the small data cores from the top panel and insert it into a control panel,” Evan asked as he inserted a holo emitter to the back of the black skull like shape of the sentry’s head
Lydia moved over and picked up a crystal and metal cube. Placing it into a slot on the control panel, it sank in half way and clamped shut.
“Pris, clone yourself into the data core. I know it won’t have the same power as your normal core, but it will allow you to connect to yourself and move about.”
“Cloning initiated,” Pris stated over the bay speakers.
“We are going to need as many hands as we can get,” Evan said as he continued to work.
The Engineer finished snapping the emitter to the base of the skull and stepped back, “I’m also keeping my promise.”
The engineer stepped over to the console, eyeing the read out as the core filled with code. When it reached 100%, the metal clamps opened and the core rose up. Evan took hold and held it in his hand, gazing upon it for a long moment before turning to the sentry. Stepping closer, he activated a command and the chest cavity bloomed open.
“The core was only able to contain 40% of my code. My clone will have limited capabilities,” Pris said over the speakers.
Evan pulled out the sentry’s simple data core and tossed it aside. Lifting Pris’s core, he inserted it into the square slot. Clamps took hold and buried the data core into the sentry’s chest. The metal chest closed over, locking shut.
“You will be able to connect to your true core for anything you may need. One of the modules will boost your signal capabilities so you will be able to connect to yourself over a planet sized distance. If you move beyond that, you will be able to function, but will not be able to interface with yourself,” Evan said as he watched lights blink on along the sentry shell.
“Understood, thank you Evan,” Pris said.
The sentry stirred. A thin black arm rose up, fingers flexing. The holo emitter glowed with streaming light. Lydia and Doctor Vickers stepped closer, watching as light cascaded over the black robot sentry. Digital skin appeared and flowed into place. A female form took shape as a black skin-tight suit covered digital flesh. A shield emitter gave the digital skin a firm tone as the body continued to form. Blonde hair flowed up and back from the head, giving it a slicked back appearance. A black line flowed from the bridge of the nose and across each eye, painting them black while purple eyes blazed open.
Lydia smiled at Evan as Pris’s form took shape in mere moments, “Did you program her to look like a blonde bombshell?”
Red touched Evan’s cheeks as Pris stood at six feet one, moving her arms and checking her systems, “Ummmmm…”
Pris looked to Lydia, “I chose this form as a representation from one of Evan’s favorite movies, taking my own liberties on the design.”
“I don’t know about you guys, but she looks badass,” Doctor Vickers grinned.
Evan turned back to the spare parts and open panels, trying to hide the crimson in his cheeks, “We have less than 48 hours before we reach the Gwyndolin system and I need to get to work. Lydia, let’s get started on your power suit.”
The red headed Cyborg stepped closer with a nod. Doctor Vickers shrugged as Evan and Lydia began pulling some of the larger replacement joints and piling them on the bay floor. Pris stood close by, ready to assist.
“Too much excitement for me, I’m going to take a nap,” the doctor said as he turned and walked away.
Evan glanced at the good doctor as he walked down the corridor before turning back to the parts, modules and circuits. Suspicions grew, but the Engineer pushed it all away to focus on the work before him.
Six
Time lost all meaning as Evan worked. Lydia was by his side most of the time as they threw around ideas. The Cyborg talked about strong warrior women as Evan and Pris assembled the framework and loaded the CPU units. Evan worked on the joints of the power suit while Pris handled all programming for the data core to be installed. Lydia beamed with excitement, but as time marched on, she deflated. Even with her tireless virtual cyborg body, her mind grew weary until she pulled up a chair and fell asleep.
Pris worked at a control panel, programming at beyond human speed. Evan continued to put the suit together piece by piece. The engineer took pride as he completed a piece and moved on to the next one. The Exo-suit came together bit by bit and Evan would grin to himself when a leg was completed and then an arm.
The Engineer wiped at his forehead as he installed circuit boards. When he switched to install a module at the hip, he noticed his eyes getting heavy. Fighting through the growing shadows of his eyelids, he growled to himself to stay awake. When the growl came out as a whimper, he tried to fight through the haze, but in a blink, darkness consumed his vision and he fell into an ocean of dreams.
Inky darkness writhed against the shores of his mind. Evan watched as guild mates were cut down with plasma fire. The smiling face of Ryan loomed into view before shadows stabbed at his face, leaving nothing but a jagged grin. Circuits rose up like monstrous tentacles, burrowing into his skin. The engineer fought and pulled, but they dug under his flesh, snaking along his muscles and bones. When he let out a scream, Pris appeared. She stepped through the darkness, her hand curled into a fist. She punched into his chest and pulled out his beating heart, showing it to him like a pleased child.
The darkness parted and Evan’s eyes shot open. Lifting his head, he noticed immediately he was on a reclin
ed chair. Pris was at a control console, her back to him and hands moving. The engineer looked to his side to see the blue skinned face of Nyn gazing down at him with a blank stare.
Evan looked into her eyes, a heated swirl touching his senses and warmth climbing his neck. They glowed with light as her blue skin paled for a moment before turning back to a light blue. Silence filled the void between them and Evan thought it was a little creepy that she was sitting by him, staring at him while he slept.
Nyn’s blue skin turned a shade of orange as her face remained an emotionless mask, “I didn’t want to wake you. You seemed like you needed your rest.”
Evan glanced around to see Lydia still in her reclined chair, mouth open and a light snoring filling the bay, “How long was I out?”
“Four hours,” Pris said without looking back.
“Have we reached the Gwyndolin system?” Evan asked as he sat up.
Nyn shook her head, “We still have eight hours before we arrive.”
Evan swung his legs over the side and stood up. The bay seemed to spin a little and the player found himself swaying.
“I need to get back to work. I want the suit done before we arrive.”
“I’m nearly complete with the control systems matching your specifications. I can begin working on the armor plating. The suit should be completed in another five hours. I can take over if you require sleep,” Pris stated as she finished tapping at the screen.
The control core cube unclamped from the terminal and Pris picked it up. Turning, she stepped over to the unfinished exo-suit and pushed the core into an open square slot. The cube sunk in and metal clamped over it.
“Thanks Pris, but I want to help finish it,” Evan said as he shook the cobwebs from his mind.
Nyn sat and watched as Evan moved to the unfinished suit and dug his fingers into the suit’s electronic guts. Pris was at his side, interfacing with the core and checking its functionality.
“The Captain asked me to come here and check on you,” Nyn said bluntly.